And so it continues
by Shaded Bubbles
Summary: Life is back to normal, yet Himeno still feels unsure regarding the renewal of peace. There are problems to deal with, relationships are beginning to crack, a new evil arises and is Himeno's new friend their new found friend...or foe?
1. Starting Anew

Disclaimer: I do not own Pretear and everything that belongs to it…erm, characters, properties and all.

"AHHHHHHH!"

There was a scream piercing through the calm atmosphere of morning, and following it…were more shrieks of utter terror. In fact, the shouts had been so alarming that practically the whole Awayuki residence was rocked awake by the calls of distress, resulting in footsteps thundering up the staircases towards the source of all the irritation.

Koaru was the first to reach the room, closely followed by his wife Natsue who was barely awake though she struggled to catch up with her husband as he flung the door of the bedroom open.

"What is it? Is it a monster? Burglar? Thief? MURDERER!"

Kaoru felt his wife slam her slippers on his head but was nonetheless stil determined to find out what on earth had made his precious darling screech in broad daylight.

"DAD HELPPPPP!"

"Ma-Mayune? What are you doing…ARGHHHHH! NOOOOOO!" Kaoru shrieked and leapt instantly onto the bed which he now shared with the two jumping Mayune and Himeno.

"What? What? What's going on? Can someone please…KAOORRUUUUUU!"

Himeno Awayuki barely managed to stop yelling as she turned and saw to her surprise that instead of the 3 people struggling for space on her very own single bed, her stepmother Natsue Awayuki had eventually joined the ranks of the terrified civilians and was now deperately clinging on to her husband who looked every bit just as afraid.

"Now WHO is going to save us for goodness' sake?" Mayune retorted irritatedly, throwing her parents a death glare but shrieked the next moment when her father accidentally grabbed at her arm in an attempt to prevent himself from falling off the sides of the bed. "MOTHER, DO SOMETHING!"

Natsue cast a horrified glance at the floor, muttering as she flung pillows onto it. "I'm trying, but you have to help too!"

"Shall we just calm down and stop screaming so we won't wake the whole neighbou-AHHHH, IT'S COMING TOWARDS THE BED! DAD! DO SOMETHING!"

The sudden knock on the door brought the four yelping people back to their senses, and they turned to look. Still clad in her pyjamas, Mawata Awayuki raised a questioning brow upon seeing the rest of her family jumping around in sheer stupidity. "Why…where's the thief?"

"Mawata! What a relief, now see if you can get one of our gardeners or helpers whatever to come up here and catch this little, erm…"

"Mouse?" Mawata broke into her mother's words, slight amusement showing through the little grin across her face. Gingerly she crossed the room over bedsheets and pillows, reaching out only when she was nearing the standing lamp by the bed to kindly invite the squealing hamster onto her fingertips. Slowly, the animal ran into Mawata's open palm and she gently carressed it, still staring at her family with barely concealed amazement.

"It's a hamster, Mother. Oh, I just got it last night…was planning to show it to you during breakfast but I think it ran off in the middle of the night." Mawata began. "Looks like it likes Himeno a lot!" She chuckled when Himeno shot her a glare but was soon replaced by relief. Relief because the hamster was caught, relief because Mawata had finally accepted her as a sister and was surely opening up to her.

"Oh well, I guess I could TRY to open up to this, er…hamster…" Himeno stated with a smile, now that the scurrying animal had been proven to be a harmless pet rather than a stray rat which had entered her room in the night. Mawata caught the smile and returned it.

Kaoru was now assisting his wife and step daughter off the bed, still casting wary glances at the hamster now resting peacefully in Mawata's open palm. "Erm, now that that's done with…erm, you know maybe we should all head down for breakfast then we can go pick up…who was it again, I'm sorry dear…"

"Miharu, darling. You really have to remember, she is the daughter of a really really close friend of mine, my classmate for as long as I can remember."

Miharu? That name did not ring a bell in Himeno's head, but from the excited looks on her sisters' she could tell that this girl was definitely special. "So, who really is she?" Himeno asked Natsue. The lady motioned for her daughters to quieten down while she explained. "Well, she is just a daughter of, as I had said, my best friend and she is in fact, I think the same age as you! She's coming to stay for a few months, her parents are thinking of getting an apartment here so they can move here as well."

Himeno nodded. Natsue turned to talk to her husband, making plans about picking Miharu up in the afternoon. That would be fun, making friends with another girl of the same age and possibly staying for good, she thought, even though she understood that due to prior commitments she probably would not be able to fetch her from the airport. Still…Himeno smiled and her mind was already running in high speed, thinking of how could she make the girl feel more at home for the next few months!

"Himeno…ooi, Himeno?"

"Huh? Dad…"

"It's eight already, I thought you were planning to meet someone at thirty?"

It's eight already! Himeno rubbed her eyes slightly to focus on the clock on her bedside table. The ticking sound continued relentlessly while the hour hand gingerly landed on the number 8 itself…

"AHHHH! I'M GOING TO BE LATEEEE!"

The bakery still remained closed and silent, despite the crowd of working adults moving up and down the windy streets.

"And so, it was just a hamster which you mistook for a rat…interesting." Mannen commented, covering his mouth with his hand while he tried to hold back his chortles. Irritated, Himeno smacked him on his head with her handbag.

"OWWW! That hurts!"

"Well, there's more to come if you don't shut up about that little incident in the morning!" Himeno replied, faking a nasty tone which resulted in Hajime and Shin breaking out in fits of laughter. "Stop laughing!"

Unable to stop the boys, Himeno turned to stare at the door of the bakery, thinking. In a few minutes time the four of them would have got the cake, all nicely wrapped up and filled with rich chocolate fudge and sliced strawberries, walked down the street to the cafeteria which she had booked just for this occasion and surprise!

"Goh is going to be real touched by this, and he will be SO THANKFUL to ME that he will spend the rest of his life…er…worshipping me, yah!" Mannen thought out loud and was once again smacked by Himeno in an attempt to deflate his ego. "Okay, maybe not just me alone, but hey Himeno you really should not be so violent you know…Hayate likes his girls to be nice and gentle…"

"ME? VIOLENT! WHAT…but do you even know what kind of girls Hayate likes?" Out of curiousity Himeno still could not resist the temptation to ask. Seemingly shocked by the attention he was getting, Mannen cleared his throat in order to sound professional yet when he spoke all that came out were _his_ opinions on what girls were best. Watching from the sidelines, Hajime could not resist rolling his eyes while Shin struggled to comprehend the various adjectives such as "gorgeous", "intellectual" etc.

"So, yeah, that's about it." Mannen concluded dramatically, jumping up onto the firehose he had been leaning on and down once again onto the ground. Himeno cast a thoughtful glance in his direction, still uncertain of whether or not to trust his words. Still…she wanted to know what he was thinking of…even though they had been seemingly together for approximately half a year, sometimes she still found it difficult to understand him. Despite having changed for the better in terms of his attitude towards her, sometimes Himeno still found it difficult to really open up to Hayate because she knew that some part of him was still holding back…not opening up to her, so…

So lost in her thoughts Himeno was that she did not realise that subconsciously she had walked a few steps in front of her, and right in the path of a swerving bicycle charging down the streets towards her.

"Himeno! Look out!"

Huh…


	2. Miharu

Disclaimer: I do not own Pretear and everything that belongs to it: characters, properties and all.

"Himeno, look out! A bi-"

Hajime stopped short for the bicycle was now mere centimetres away from Himeno's front, who at that split second had the sense to scramble out of the bicycle's path. The rider of the bike, after frantically applying the brakes, had managed to skid to a halt and immediately jumped off to check if Himeno had indeed escaped unscathed.

"Oh dear! I am really sorry about this…Are you okay?"

Himeno rubbed off some remaining dirt from her palms which fortunately seemed to be the only scratched parts of her body. Relieved she looked up from the ground and right into a pair of deep blue eyes. It was a girl approximately of the same age, with shoulder length brown hair tied with a white ribbon. From the looks of it, she too seemed to have escaped unhurt, except for a faint bruise on her arm.

"Yeah, I'm alright!" Himeno replied just as cheerily, getting up in record speed. "You?"

The girl let out an audible sigh of relief as she turned to pick up her fallen bicycle. "Yep, I'm fine too…I'm really glad you're fine, it's just that I am not too familiar with the streets here but I tend to cycle fast…"

"Er…are you new here?" Shin suddenly asked, flashing one of his cutest smiles. The girl nodded in reply and bent down to pat him lightly.

"Uh huh. My name is Miharu, Kimura Miharu. Pleased to meet you!"

-----

The room was dark. Walls reached up as high as the sky seemed to be, yet the sky was nothing beautiful to gaze at. Dark clouds swirled around ominously with the occasional lightning flashing across the misty skies.

The smell was musty, thick with dampness. There was a gust of icy wind which cut into the very skins of those present, however there was no complaint.

They were used to it.

"Everything is going just as planned, my lord."

"Good. I see that you have sent Serin to infiltrate the party of Leafe Knights already…good. Good. I do hope she brings back good news…"

"My lord, do not worry. In the shortest time possible, we will be ruling the world without those nosy Leafe Knights poking their noses in our business."

"Good. And?"

The deep voice barely bothered to hide his tone of sheer glee as he chuckled evilly. "The Pretear, of course, is to be killed along them…my lord."

"…good."

-----

The café's door had a closed sign hung over it, yet within it was bursting with excitement. Balloons and streamers hung from every nook and cranny, party poopers were being tested every now and then while Sasame fiddled with the stereo system to make his choice between classical, evergreen or sheer rock and roll.

"We had better speed things up, Goh is coming back soon." Hayate grunted as he struggled to lay the tablecloth without a single crease appearing on it. "What is wrong with this thing?"

There was a smack on his hand, followed by Kei re-doing the whole table cloth without a single fold appearing on it at all. Tsking, he turned back to Hayate and replied simply. "Well if you have yet to realise it, it is the birthday cake that we are missing and it is, or should be, currently with Himeno." He added as an afterthought. "Do you want to call her? You could, no no no, you SHOULD."

Hayate resisted a growing desire to reach out and literally blow the chuckling Kei out of his sight. There were just so many things weighing on his mind now, too many to be exact, and none of them seemed to be the least bit positive. First things first, there were the recurring nightmares which never seem to go away. He could still remember it so clearly, feel the harsh raindrops falling on his face, feel her fingers gently trying to reach out to him, feel _his own fingers_ run a slap across her face…her tears…her hurt…her words…

Her blood.

Hayate did not realise it but the paper towel he had been holding onto was now crushed into a ball, his fingernails cutting deep into it. To himself, he swore that he would never ever let anything bad happen to her.

Never.

-----

"Oh, so you knew Mayune and Mawata since they were children?" Himeno inquired curiously, gingerly carrying the precious birthday cake meant for God during his birthday party later on. Beside her, Shin, Hajime and Mannen were excitedly sharing the ice cream cake which they had just purchased from the bakery.

Miharu nodded, her bicycle in tow. "My mother and Aunt have known each other for ages, so I often pop by at their residence!"

"That's so wonderful…you really are a nice girl. If only I had known you earlier…"

"Well, you must really think highly og me as to say that of me as nice when you barely know me…" Miharu paused gently as if to find the correct words to continue her sentence. "I mean, a lot of people are not exactly who they seem to be Himeno…I can tell that you are different."

Himeno halted in her steps abruptly. She…knows who I really am…

Miharu stared into Himeno's eyes for what seemed like an eternity before breaking out into fits of giggles. "You probably are the nicest girl I'll ever meet in my life!" Silence, an awkward pause. "Uh…Himeno, are you okay? Was it something I said…"

"Nah, of course not!" Himeno laughed aloud, her flailing hands consistently smacking an irritated Mannen on his head. Amused Hajime snorted rather audibly into his cake.

"Shuddup." Mannen muttered and cast a glare in Hajime's direction. The snorting ceased as quickly as it had begun.

-----

Goh lifted the can of soda to his lips and downed the very last drip of his drink. He shook the can for a final time before throwing it into the garbage can beside the bench which he currently sat on.

So much for a morning walk. To think that they even managed to coerce him into agreeing to return only at ten thirty.

He reached into a plastic bag and pulled out a sandwich. The clingwrap was starting to feel oily and Goh was starting to have second thoughts about having it at all.

There was a sudden gust of prickling cold wind; the icy feeling somewhat out of place in a bright morning as such. Leaves were rustling ferevently in the distance while dying flower petals picked up by the gust swirled around mid-air. The temperature of the atmosphere was dropping fast, and somehow the bacon sandwich did not seem as appealing anymore.

-----

"Do you feel it?" Himeno suddenly asked, halting abruptly in her foorsteps. Miharu paused as well, her gaze transfixed upon Himeno's face.

"Um…what is it…"

Himeno glanced around warily and her stare came to a rest at the park which she was unknowingly walking into.

"Himeno!" Miharu reached out to grab Himeno's hand, an action which surprisingly did not manage to startle the girl back to her senses.

Something is within that park…calling, beckoning…

_Himeno. Awayuki Himeno. The Legendary White Pretear._

_Come on in. The Master Awaits!_

"HIMENO!"

Himeno paused so quickly in her tracks and swerved around to see Miharu staring at her with great concern. Tugging at her dress was also a near-crying Shin, apparently shocked by her trance.

Miharu shook Himeno gently, asking, "are you sure you are okay?"

Himeno opened her mouth to say something but shut it again. She certainly did not want her new-found friend to think of her as an idiot because of her abnormal identity, which many people found ridiculous. However, there was just something in that very park which was attracting her towards it! Something!

Miharu alternated her gaze between Himeno and the park behind her before opening her handbag to take out a purse. "Listen, I'll run back to the backery now to get you some hot milk. That will calm you down for a while, okay?" She turned to the three boys to flash a reassuring smile and took off down the empty footpath. Himeno watched on as Miharu's shadow vanished in the distance, along with the constant rhythm of her footsteps.

"Hi-Himeno?" It was Hajime.

"You feel it too, right?" Himeno replied, her voice shaking with a mixture of fear, suspicion and yet a hint of resolution. A leaf fluttered from the tree above and landed in her open palm. She closed it tightly, feeling the air around her getting tenser. Could it be that her days of peace and serenity were coming to an end soon, or perhaps even quicker than expected?

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Whatever it was, Awayuki Himeno was ready for the challenge!


	3. Lady Serin

Disclaimer: The usual stuff, no, I do not own anything of Pretear.

Himeno could hear clearly her footsteps as they treaded gently on the rocky path.

"Himeno-chan, stay close to me, okay?" Mannen said from his position in front of the girl. Finally, he thought within himself gleefully, a chance to prove my worth! He cracked his knuckles in anticipation, keeping his watchful eyes on the alert for anything or anyone suspicious…

"GET DOWN!"

What? Himeno heard someone bellow from above her and before she knew it, a man was pressing her down onto the ground and urging the three children to get down as well. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a streak of black energy hit the spot where she had been standing previously, resulting in a loud explosion. The ground started to sizzle slightly, giving off black froth with a nasty smell.

"Goh?" Himeno breathed when the man above her leapt to his feet, helping her up at the same time. But there was no time to talk for the next minute, another ball of energy was directed at her. Himeno instinctively jumped aside and landed on the ground in a crouching position. What a pleasant surprise, she mused sarcastically, but immediately recovered from the shock.

Mannen, Hajime and Shin had apparently taken on their various defensive positions and were now standing in front of Himeno, Knight robes billowing in the wind. Further on in front of the four of them, Goh panted hard but managed to conjure up a ball of fiery power which he flung towards the darkness ahead of him. It must have missed for an evil chuckle was heard almost instantaneously and the atmosphere suddenly seemed to have plunged tens of degrees lower. Himeno felt fear rising within her, there was a figure emerging from the shadows of the trees ahead…definitely not your friendly neighbour next door, she commented inwardly.

"Tsk, tsk, I must say I was expecting more out of a Knight than weak balls of fire." It was a woman with an unusually high-pitched voice. A second glance at her, however, made her out to be one of extreme beauty with those refined features and a certain flair which came along with fair skin, long dark hair and lips which were deep scarlet in colour. Her fingers twirled strands of hair falling across her face naturally and her eyes, Himeno noticed, flashed a certain shade of purple at times.

"Shut up. Who are you?" Goh.

The lady laughed slightly. "Well, well, I'm surprised that you are not astounded by my beauty, not that I mean to be vain of course, but aren't you getting to the point a little too, say, quickly?" She summoned a ball of black energy in her palm and played around with it as if it was just a harmless ball of wool. "Let me guess, you must be Goh." She turned her glance to Himeno and the children. "Mannen, Hajime, Shin…and the Pretear."

"Who are you?"

Silence, a little too eerie while the woman's features began to show signs of displeasure. "Well, well, since we have _such_ impatient people around here, it really does spoil the entire mood of this whole conversation. Tsk tsk, well then, may I have the utmost pleasure of introducing the third Lady Tesha of the Dark Court!"

Dark Court? What on earth was that? But Himeno had no time to rack her brains for an answer, she had to fight and survive this. "Goh, Pret with me!"

"Huh? Oh right!"

She placed her palm gently in Goh's outstretched one, feeling the usual surge of energy charge through her. From the corner of her eye, however, she could not help but wonder why was Tesha still watching them with a face too calm and collected. Something was wrong, definitely, and before she realised it she was still standing on the very ground she had stood on minutes ago, and still clothed in the same jacket and skirt.

Right, this is _so_ not good. But, why?

"Simple, you have entered my invisible ring of dark power and that completely forbids any Pretear to Pret due to the more powerful Dark magic I have cast on this area." She giggled in a pitch too high for comfort, and her slender fingers once again curled the long trails of hair down her forehead. "Now, I suppose you will all die knowing, and perhaps, happy?"

She laughed, now sinister and foreboding. She was past caring with regard to the four knights now jumping into their defensive stances, deflecting their attacks so smoothly and frequently. Her eyes were simply trained on Himeno, the one girl her brain was taught to get and kill with no questioning.

"Himeno, get away!" Hajime yelled over his shoulder while he leapt aside, panting, to avoid the ball of dark energy hurled at him. "Now!"

Himeno faltered, there was no way she would leave her companions here to battle. Yet without being able to Pret, a normal girl like her would simply prove to be more of a hindrance than a help. "I…I…"

Somewhere out there, somebody gave a yelp and fell hard to the ground. The second ball of dark energy meant for him streaked over his injured body and flew right in the path of Himeno. She did the most natural thing of jumping out of harm's way but the ball seemed bent on getting at her for it did the most unusual thing of twisting its course and flying just at Himeno's back. She broke into a run, diving over a park bench and behind trees, hardly even concerned that Tesha was smiling in a most amused way. She would not admit defeat by simply standing there to get killed. Never.

The ball increased in its speed, now barely centimetres away from her exposed neck. It made a swoop for it; Himeno seemed every bit as doomed as she could be…But I don't want to lose!

There was a gentle swishing sound, and suddenly the heat radiating from the ball vanished. Himeno fell to her knees, gasping for air and mustered enough courage to turn her head back to look at what had just happened. Nothing, just the cool morning breeze against her cheek. Her gaze fell to the grass patch near her knees where a white feather lay quietly. A…feather!

Tesha seemed to be equally outraged at the sudden change of plans. "Who is it?" She yelled into the surroundings, flaring. From her fingertips emerged black balls of energy which she randomly threw everywhere. The rubbish bin caught one of the balls and burst into flames, smoke engulfing it and if not for Hajime's quick reaction of a water whip may have erupted into a huge fire emergency.

"No one touches the Pretear." A misty voice sounded as if from a faraway place. "Including you, Tesha." The tone was light-hearted and even resembling that of casual talk between 2 close friends, but Tesha certainly was not in a mood to sit down, have some drinks and talk about who was her first crush in life. Her cheeks flushed a deep colour of red but regained composure within seconds, an action which spoke much of the amount of anger surging through her then.

"Well, well, so now, who do we have with us? Some crank or weirdo?"

The voice did not reply, but instead came a swishing sound and a white feather struck across the sky, flying through between the two fingers of Tesha's open palm. To a certain extent, her wide eyes betrayed her shock and disbelief but it was soon replaced by uncertainty and rage.

Himeno was as shocked as the others by the sudden change, her gaze tracing the path of the feather across the sky and onto a misty silhouette of a figure in a long flowing dress and bracelets tinkling melodiously. The faint lavender light surrounding her however prevented Himeno from a clear view of the looks of the girl.

Tesha muttered something under her breath and within seconds conjured up a deeper ball of energy, looking more sinister than any other energy source Himeno had ever seen being hurled at her previously. It lashed through the air furiously, charging at high speed, but just at the point of contact, a long sash was hurled upwards. It emitted a faint lavender glow and after a graceful twirl in the air, was flung towards the ball, circling it within and in a blinding glow destroyed it swiftly and precisely. A dash of silver glitter gently flew down from where the destroyal took place and formed up into the shape of a white feather.

Another soft chant was heard. A streak of pink flew towards Tesha who tried in vain to dodge from the sudden attack of the ribbon sash at herself. She gave out a frightened yell as the sash twirled around her and knocked her onto the ground, scraped with a bleeding gash on her upper arm. She hissed violently but could not command the energy to retaliate. "You watch it there, woman!" There was a purple glare and when Himeno looked back again, both Tesha and the mysterious girl had vanished simultaneously.

"Just what had happened…"

The three children shook their heads, all uncertain of what exactly to say because they too were extremely confused by the sudden appearance of a new enemy. Huddled together in a corner, they began to chatter animatedly about Tesha, commenting about every single detail of the lady. Himeno noticed, however, that Goh seemed to be in deep thoughts and decided against talking to him for once. A crease of worry formed between his brows as he wiped the mud off his palms and started to pace the area, striding silently.

He knows, Himeno thought frantically. Something, at least.

"Eh, Go-"

"Come on, let's go off now. We've stayed here for too long already, the others are bound to get worried. Come on!" Goh smiled and gave a thumbs-up at the children who had already begun to run back to the pavements. He turned and looked concernedly at Himeno, asking, "you okay there?"

"Uh…sure. Let's go!" She replied with vigour and gave Goh a thumbs-up in return before chasing after the children and yelling at them to slow down lest they fall and trip. Watching her from behind, Goh's happy façade crumbled to what was an impassive look while he walked over to bend down and pick up the remains of a very white and pure feather. It sparkled gently in his open palm.

"GOHHHHH!" Mannen bellowed from a distance away. "HURRY UP, YOU SLOWCOACH!"

"Grr…Mannen, watch your manners now!" He shouted back whilst quickly stuffing the feather into the back pocket of his jeans. Waving his clenched fist, he broke into a run towards Mannen and Hajime who stared at each other for a second before plummeting down the street. It was once again the bright and sunny morning, but who knows for how much longer…

-----

At a corner of the park, a figure stepped out from the shadows of the trees and bushes, her eyes gleaming with a faint hint of amusement.

"Well well, it seems as if my dearest sister has failed in this horribly stupid attempt on the Pretear's life, how silly of her." She muttered under her breath, fingers fingering her hair. "I suppose it's really up to me to do my duty…hummph."

Her features were slightly lit up by a tiny smile across her face. Indeed, it was time for Serin to show everyone else what she was truly capable of.

She turned away as the first few people began streaming into the park, filling up the benches and all. Her sports shoes scraped against the dirt path, a few people turned to look at her intricately beautiful features, her hair flew lightly in the wind and she smiled kindly at a few children who walked past, even to the extent of waving at the boy who was having a ball game with his sister. Under the sunlight, it was difficult to imagine her as a lady who had never ever walked on earth before this. Quite difficult, indeed.

-----

It was rather late when Himeno and the children remembered that there was a surprise party planned for Goh at the café but nonetheless, they still managed to make it on time before Hayate dispatched the rest to go on a hunt for them. Cake and drinks were provided, streamers and balloons swarmed the area while the gang partied like there was no tomorrow.

"Eat up all the food or else we would have to spend the next few hours clearing leftovers and rubbish!" Kei demanded as he opened yet another bottle of orangeade. "And let's all wish Goh a Happy Birthday!"

Everyone cheered as they raised their glasses to toast the birthday boy who was surprisingly turning into a faint shade of red. Even Mannen, Hajime and Shin were excitedly jumping around and blowing party poopers at anyone who would even bother to stop and get sprayed at.

"Himeno, why are you so anti-social today?" Sasame walked over and asked, concerned. "You are just sitting here by yourself and eating, um, cake?"

"…Nah! I'm just feeling a little weird that's it. Tired, maybe." She waved off the comment but kept her eyes staring at the cake she was eating. She was rather certain that by pure staring, Sasame would find out that the reason why she was being so quiet today was because Hayate had been treating her so coldly for the past weeks and she wanted to avoid any further awkwardness between the two of them…

Sasame patted her on her head and while Himeno flashed a teasing scowl at him, the corner of her eye spotted Hayate eyeing this scene with his usual intensity and coldness. She hurriedly turned her gaze back to her cake, feeling a strange feeling course through her veins then. Gah Himeno, when have you become such a coward? Where was the strong Pretear who had fought off Saihi and half the demons in the town!

Himeno took another bite of the cake, feeling it slowly but surely disintegrate into nothingness inside her stomach.

Author's Note: Hee, sorry this chapter came out later than expected. Been rather busy ever since the new year began but I will still try my very best to update frequently! ) Thanks for all the reviews so far!


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